A Dream Deferred
by Genevieve1
Summary: Munkustrap falls in love with a queen no one expects.....Reviews as always welcome! I hope you all love the Mystery Queen. If you dont, tell me why not!!
1. Chapter One

A Dream Deferred  
  
by  
  
Genevieve  
  
  
  
A little note from me: Hi!!!!!!!! This is my second attempt at CATS fan fiction. I think that everyone who enjoyed Untitled Love Story will like this story. This also will become NC-17 at some point, but until then I will just keep it at a lower rating. I also wanted to say that the characters in this story will have different relationships with each other. For example Mungo and Rumple might be mates in this story, instead of brother and sister. Just wanted to tell you this so you wont think I am perverted or something like that. So with no further adieu here it is: A Dream Deferred….  
  
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What happens to a dream deferred?  
  
Does it dry up  
  
Like a raisin in the sun?  
  
Or fester like a sore-  
  
And then run?  
  
Does it stink like rotten meat  
  
Or crust and sugar over-  
  
Like a syrupy sweet?  
  
Maybe it just sags  
  
Like a heavy load.  
  
Or does it explode?  
  
- Langston Hughes  
  
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The sun was sinking below the horizon, cascading deep hues of purple, red, pink, and orange across the quiet Junkyard. The hustle and bustle of the day had slowly become a low murmur. All around the Junkyard, cats were huddled in small groups conversing, and in the kittens' cases trying to get a quick game of tag in before they were hauled off for the night by their parents. Few and far between a lone cat would lie alone regarding the Junkyard with silent wondering. One such cat was Munkustrap.  
  
Munkustrap had known for as long as he could remember, that someday he would be the leader of the cats surrounding him. He had spent the majority of his kitten hood with his father, rather than the kittens his age. Instead of playing tag and hide-and-go-seek with his friends, he spent his days with Old Deuteronomy learning how to become a great leader for the Jellicle tribe.  
  
Now Munkustrap was considered an adult in the tribe, but little about him had changed since his days as a kitten. He was still the stern black and silver tom with the serious expression and an attitude to match. Even though he was quite strict, his rugged good looks shone through. The one thing that had changed about him was his size. He had always been a large kitten but now was one of the largest toms in the tribe.  
  
Thinking about it, many things had changed within the tribe. Cats that had been dearly loved had been sent to the Heaviside Layer, a new generation of Jellicles had been born, and kitten hood friends had become mates.  
  
Many things had stayed the same as well. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer still nicked things on a regular basis, Tugger and Bombalurina still had an infamous love/hate relationship, the kittens still went crazy for Tugger, and Macavity still made occasional visits to the Junkyard and scared the crap out of Demeter.  
  
Munkus heaved a heavy sigh as his thoughts turned to Demeter. Like him Demeter had also been a very mature kit. Most of this maturity came from her experiences with Macavity, which caused her to grow up much more quickly than anyone could have wished. This maturity was something the two cats had shared from early on, and Munkus and Demeter became fast friends. At one point in time, Munkus thought he wanted to be Demeter's mate, but those days were long gone. Demeter had shared the same feeling, but sadly her love for Munkus had never faded. Munkustrap had tried so hard, for so long to get it through Demi's mind that he just wasn't interested in her like that. His constant distancing had caused Demeter to pursue him more and more. Now Demeter never gave up a chance to spend time with him. As children they had meaningful, fulfilling conversations, but now Demeter would fawn over him and bat her eyelashes flirtatiously in a dreadful attempt to mimic Bombalurina. As much as Demeter got on his nerves, he had to admit that she was a gorgeous queen. Her coat was a mixture of black, white, and gold. Her eyes were dazzling amber that seemed to brighten and sparkle whenever Munkus was around. But looks weren't all that mattered to Munkustrap. He wanted a queen who he could have intelligent conversations with, and who acted like an equal when he was around, not a lovesick puppy. And Munkustrap had a particular queen in mind that could fulfill all his needs…  
  
Hi!!! So what did everything think? As you can probably tell, the poem at the beginning and the title go hand in hand. Just so you know the poem will make sense within the story, I have already figured out how!!!! The thing I am struggling with is who the queen Munkus loves is. So what I was thinking is you could give me any feedback, and tell me who you would like it to be. If I don't like her, then it wont be her. But you can still try. THANKS!!!!!!! 


	2. Chapter Two

1 Chapter 2  
  
Disclaimer: I forgot to put this in earlier! So here goes: I don't own CATS or anything CATS related at all. I wish I did but life just doesn't work out like that.  
  
Note: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this story. It was GREATLY appreciated and helped me decide who the mystery queen would be. Now I will thank you all: Nephele, Sarah Hartsfield, Sunnyatillia, Crystaltear, sugarplumfairy, EtcyEtcy, and Jeweljemkitten, Tetiani, and Demeter. Thank you all very much!!  
  
2 Chapter 2  
  
The sun rose slowly into a hazy gray sky. A light mist fell throughout the Junkyard and left everyone and everything in it damp and miserable. While the other cats slept, Munkustrap began his rounds through the Junkyard to make sure everything was in order. It was something he did every morning, and he had grown to enjoy it. He spent the early morning hours with himself, just thinking, before the hustle and bustle of the other cats interrupted his thoughts. Usually Munkustrap thought about a variety of things while he walked. Some mornings he would think about his future and the leader of the Jellicles, and some other days he would just think about the weather or the day's events. This morning he was only thinking about one thing, and only one thing, the queen he was in love with.  
  
He had always been close with her when she was a kitten. She was far more mature than some of the other queen's her age. Something in her eyes made her seem wise and way beyond her years. Munkus had always thought kittens to be cute and cuddly, but the moment he had seen her only one word could come to his mind. Beautiful. She was by far the most stunning kitten he had ever seen. Her littermates had all been pretty, a pure white queen, a yellow, white, and brown tabby, and a dark brown tabby. But none could compete with her. Her fur was a combination of dark brown, black, white, and burgundy. Her face and chest were white, and her eyes were a deep, pure sapphire blue. She was the smallest queen in her litter and also the smallest queen in the tribe. To top it all of she had a sweet, clear singing voice and it was utterly amazing. The first time Munku had ever heard her voice was at the recent Jellicle Ball. She had sung The Moments of Happiness with Old Deuteronomy. Upon hearing her sweet voice slice through the still night air, he had been completely dumbfounded. He had thought it was the most beautiful singing he had ever heard. He had once again been completely blown away when he heard her sing with Grizabella. Something about her voice and how happy she looked atop the junk heap had really gotten to him. She looked so angelic, so innocent, and so gorgeous. From that moment on, he had never tried to deny his growing feelings for her.  
  
Munkustrap let out a frustrated sigh as he walked through the Junkyard. His fate was inevitable. As hard as he tried, and as much as he wanted to, he could never be with her. First of all, she was much younger than him. When she was born, he had just been leaving kitten hood. That made him almost a year older than her. Also, many other toms had their eye on her. Munkus knew that he could never beat that kind of competition. At that moment, he decided to accept his fate. At the next Jellicle Ball, he and Demeter would become mates, and he would be the next leader of the tribe. Just the thought of spending the rest of his days with Demeter made him unconsciously shudder. The thought of waking p every day to her lovesick face, her doting attitude, her lack of substance. It was too much for him to even think about.  
  
The light mist that had been falling abruptly stopped and the fog gave way to the rosy fingertips of the sun. Even though most of the cats were still lightly slumbering, a few were beginning to awake and stretch after a long night's sleep. Munkustrap was acutely aware of someone coming up behind him. For a split second he could have sworn it was Macavity, coming for an early morning ambush. He stopped and sniffed the air, and his nostrils were met with the friendly scent of a Jellicle. Munkustrap slowly turned around to greet whomever was directly behind him. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her. For a few minutes he couldn't believe his eyes and thought that this was an insanely fantastic dream. He just stood and stared at her for a second before his senses returned to him.  
  
"Hello, Jemima."  
  
  
  
So that's chapter 2!! Sorry that it took me awhile to type and all. I know that this wasn't the queen of your guy's choice, and that some of you told me to go with older queens. But Munkustrap and Jemima are my favorite cats. So I just had to make them fall in love. I'm thinking for chapter three, Jemima will give her POV!!!! 


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